The following story is part of Walter Block's Autobiography Archive.

Discovering the Libertarian Within

by David F. Nolan

As far back as I can remember, I have always been a libertarian. Of course when I was a child I had never heard the word, but I was one. I had an inquisitive mind, and was always asking "why?" whenever a grown-up issued a pronouncement. If the answer made sense, I’d usually accept it. If not, I didn’t.

I learned to read at the age of four, by looking at the words in books my parents read me. They were quite surprised when I started to "read back" stories like The Little Engine That Could. This ability provided a natural means for me to learn things for myself, and I became an avid reader.

The first "political" book I remember reading was George Orwell’s 1984, which I encountered at the age of nine or ten. My parents were both academics, and there were always lots of books around our home. I suspect I didn’t really understand a lot of what Orwell was saying, but I plowed through the book anyhow.

The first author whose writings definitely helped shape my thinking, however, was Robert Heinlein. I started with his "juvenile" novels, at age eleven or so, and went on to read almost everything he wrote. I don’t recall that Heinlein ever used the word "libertarian," but his values permeated his books and I soaked them up along with his stories.

In retrospect, it’s easy to see that Heinlein was pro-freedom, pro-enterprise, and anti-tyranny. The themes explored in his Future History Series ranged from privately funded moon rockets to the dangers of a repressive theocracy. And while I had no real interest in politics during my teen years, I was taken enough with Heinlein’s writings that I made myself a "Heinlein for President" button to wear during the 1960 election. This eccentricity was duly noted in a cartoon that appeared in my high school yearbook!

That same year, I discovered H.L. Mencken, a writer only recently deceased and still widely remembered in Maryland, where I grew up. Mencken was tailor-made for smart-ass aspiring adolescent intellectuals, given his penchant for skewering the mighty and the "booboisie" with equal vigor. Like countless other junior wordsmiths of that era I aspired to write like the Sage of Baltimore, and I was probably more successful than most.

By the time I finished high school I had no clearly-formed political philosophy. My parents and most of their friends were liberals. Most of my friends were apolitical like me, more interested in science and science fiction than in politics or history. If anyone had asked me, I probably would have identified myself as a liberal, without really having any idea of what that meant.

In the fall of 1961 I set off for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, intending to become an architect. Shortly after I arrived there, one of my new-found friends urged me to read The Fountainhead because "it’s about an architect." That was my first brush with Ayn Rand, and over the next couple of years I read all of her novels and many of her essays. I was transfixed! All the ideas I had soaked up from Heinlein, Mencken and a smorgasbord of science-fiction writers fell into place.

I began scouring the MIT library for books on politics and economics with a pro-freedom viewpoint. One of the first I encountered was F. A. Hayek’s classic treatise, The Road To Serfdom. I found it so enlightening that I bought a personal copy and highlighted key passages with a yellow marker. Shortly thereafter, I started reading The Freeman each month.

In 1963, I began hearing a lot about Barry Goldwater. The more I heard, the more excited I became. Here was a political leader talking about individualism, liberty, and the free market! An article in some popular magazine – Life? – revealed that both Rand and Heinlein were Goldwater supporters. With the help of like-minded friends, I organized the MIT chapter of Youth for Goldwater, which became the largest Goldwater club in New England.

After Goldwater’s defeat in 1964, I began to look for new ways to work for liberty. I rode out to Belmont, a Boston suburb, and met with Robert Welch, founder and Chairman of the John Birch Society. Welch spent several hours with me, and suggested a number of books that might help me learn more about history and philosophy. These included Ludwig von Mises’ The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality along with works by "old Right" authors such as Frank Chodorov, Albert Jay Nock, Garet Garrett and John T. Flynn.

I never joined the Birch Society, but did become involved with the Liberty Amendment Committee, a group formed to repeal the federal income tax and get the U.S. government out of all activities not specifically authorized by the Constitution. The group’s Chairman, a garrulous old gentleman named Willis Stone, was a natural-born libertarian, and also helped solidify my political beliefs.

As the 1960s drew to a close, I continued to read everything I could find that would expand my understanding of the pro-freedom, limited-government philosophy. It was during this period that I began using the word "libertarian" to describe my beliefs.

Two writers who influenced my thinking during those years were Karl Hess and Murray Rothbard, both self-described anarchists. And while I have never fully accepted that philosophy, I became quite fond of both men as I corresponded with each of them over the years. While they were quite different in their personalities, I found each to be a kindred spirit.

My journey of self-discovery has continued to this day. Hopefully, it will not end until my life is over. The more I learn, the more I believe that the philosophy of liberty is right for humanity.

July 10, 2003

David F. Nolan [send him mail] is the creator of the "Nolan Chart," which has widely supplanted the old left-right model of politics, and led the group that founded the Libertarian Party in 1971.

Copyright © 2003 by the author. Used by permission.